Eddie Palmieri, the Grammy-winning pianist and composer who was born in Harlem and transformed Latin music by introducing a variety of new sounds, passed away on Wednesday. He was eighty-eight.
According to his daughter Gabriela, Palmieri passed away at his Hackensack, New Jersey, home following a protracted illness, as reported by the New York Times.
Palmieri’s family posted on Instagram that he was a teacher, a mentor, and a devoted supporter of Latin music and culture. His artistry, conviction, and distinctive voice captivated many audiences and inspired generations of musicians.
Palmieri, an eight-time Grammy winner, approached his work with both a professorial and an iconoclastic perspective, pursuing excellence across a variety of genres and techniques.
The son of Puerto Rican immigrants in Spanish Harlem, Palmieri is regarded as a pioneer of salsa music, fusing jazz, classical, boogaloo, funk, rock, and more while staying loyal to his Afro-Caribbean heritage.
Palmieri’s decision to replace the trumpet section of his 1960s ensemble La Perfecta with two trombones, a flute, and a more prominent rhythm section is among his most well-known inventions.
In 2012, Palmieri told the Smithsonian about assembling a band for club shows, saying, “It became an economic situation, the trombone or the flute.” When I finally got to have both of them one evening, I remarked, “That’s it.”
Some of Palmieri’s most cherished works, such as their 1962 debut album and 1965’s Azucar Pa Ti, would be released by La Perfecta, which featured vocalist Ismael Quintana and trombonist Barry Rogers.
Palmieri is survived by four daughters, Gabriela, Renee, Eydie and Ileana, and a son, Edward. Charlie, his older brother, predeceased him in 1988 and was also a well-known Latin pianist. Iraida, his wife of 58 years, passed away in 2014; he later dedicated the album Mi Luz Mayor to her memory.
